


Just Lucky, I Guess

by anastasiabeaverhousen (Anastasia_Beaverhousen)



Series: Just Lucky, I Guess [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anastasia_Beaverhousen/pseuds/anastasiabeaverhousen
Summary: Brienne gets a night off and goes to a bar.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: Just Lucky, I Guess [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105124
Comments: 23
Kudos: 45





	Just Lucky, I Guess

This is me dipping my toes back in to writing after twenty years away.

\--------------

She swung the heavy oak door open, breathing in the stale bar smell of old beer and cheap cigarettes. It smelled a lot like every other dive bar she’d ever been in- frankly, that was kind of the point. The place was about what she expected, half empty with just a few patrons huddled around the bar. Nothing to see here.

She had a rare night off, and had briefly considered going to that new club she'd heard Peck and Pod discussing earlier, but quickly decided that she spent more than enough time around over exuberant kids. She just wanted a drink and some time where she could get out of her own head, somewhere with no memories attached to it. Somewhere she wouldn’t see him and have to confront the fact that he had done what he had done and she had a decision to make.

She ordered a scotch from the bartender, glimpsing her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Red lips, shoulder length blonde hair, tired blue eyes- same as always. She sighed and spied a small empty booth in the back of the bar. It looked as sticky and dark as the rest of the bar, but it was tucked away in a small alcove where she could have at least a semblance of privacy.

Just as she stepped to the booth, she felt a light brush on her shoulder. Immediately dropping into a defensive position, she whirled around, hand flying to the concealed pistol at the small of her back.

The man before her blinked at her response, a shock of brown hair falling into brown eyes in a non-descript face. He grinned, one hand holding a half-full glass, the other held palm open. “What kind of way is that to treat an old friend?”

Her eyes flew open in shock and she lowered her hand, tilting her head to the side. "Hyle?"

"Yep...Never thought I'd see you again...It's been some time, hasn't it? Damn, you look great!"

Time had not been kind to him. His face was lightly lined and his eyes seemed even more hooded than when they were younger. How long had it been now? She grimaced and forced herself to shake his hand. He apologized, she reminded herself. He told me and he apologized. Just breathe in, breathe out. The only way they have any power over me is if I let them. Reciting the litany her Maester had taught helped, it really did, and she forced a tight smile.

“Meeting anyone here tonight, Brienne?” Hyle didn’t wait for her to respond, just scooted into the booth and smiled, motioning for her to join him. She huffed in frustration but sat down anyway.

She paused to answer, but he didn’t wait for her response. “Me, I’m planning to meet some guys from work tonight but got here early to get a head start,” he smiled what she remembered he considered his most charming smile. It really wasn’t charming at all.

She bit back a grin. Back in college she had considered him- acceptable. Not attractive, not ugly like her, but good enough. He even had the balls to use that as a selling point- he was good enough for her, and she could take him home to Daddy. 

She had been taken enough by him then, at least until he assured her that his dick worked. That had been too much even then. Now, she knew much better. She had seen better and knew better and damn sure had better. Even if the aforesaid better had mightily pissed her off and she didn’t know- no. No use going down that path tonight. What mattered was that she wasn’t the girl she had been.

Years of therapy, orthodontia and a profound understanding of the art of contouring had made her life immeasurably better, but here she was, back where she started, sitting at a bar with Kyle Cun- no, no, no, no. Hyle Hunt. She was sitting here with Hyle Hunt. Damn Jaime Lannister and his too-glib dismissal of anything and everything not dipped in gold. If she wanted to have a drink with an old . . . friend. . . she would. She was a grown damn woman. She could do what she wanted.

Hyle was saying something, and she forced herself to pay attention. After an initial period of awkwardness, she actually began to enjoy his company- for a given value of enjoyment. An hour or so passed, and she felt considerably more relaxed by the third scotch she'd been sipping. She narrowed her eyes. Hyle was speaking animatedly about a project he was working on, and the topic, which had absolutely nothing to do with private security or political parties or Jaime Fucking Lannister, washed over her like a numbing wave.

He sat his glass down and looked at her, really looked at her, for probably the first time. "I'm sorry, I've been rambling. It's just great to see you again..." His hand gently brushed against hers, and the son of a bitch had the temerity to let it rest there, touching her. His voice dropped a timbre, becoming slightly husky. " You look really good, Brienne. What were the chances of us ever seeing each other again, especially like this?"

She almost choked on her drink and was composing a polite way to tell him to fuck himself when her phone flashed, the face on the screen a familiar golden glow. The image grinned up at her with familiar insouciance. Fuck. She had silenced the phone hours ago but forgot to put the damn thing out of sight.

Hyle didn’t miss it. “Lannister?” His face scrunched in distaste. “What in the hell is Lannister doing calling you? I didn’t know that jackass was still alive, much less still-”

Growling in frustration, she thumbed the decline button and turned her phone upside down.

“That’s really none of your business, isn’t it, Hyle?” “Oh come on, don’t be like that. I’m just curious.” His brown eyes shone with something, but it wasn't just curiosity. 

“You know what?” She downed the rest of her scotch and waved a hand. “Be curious somewhere else.”

Hyle raised an eyebrow, and something ugly flashed across his ordinary face. 

She met his eyes, cold and flat, and for a moment allowed something of the soldier to cross her features.

He stood up. “Fine then,” he muttered. “Time for me to go anyway. Be seeing you.”

He walked away, and she watched him go. The damn phone sat there like a black brick, solid and cold. She turned it over, and it was flashing yet again. 

Maybe it was the scotch, or her own poor judgment, but for whatever reason this time she picked it up.


End file.
